His heavy steps trudged up the stairs, and I tracked the movement as a terrible thought came to me . . .
Perhaps those stomps had been the last sound my parents and brother had heard when the prince had climbed the executioner block.
Perhaps that would be the last sound I would hear.
I halted mid-movement, my body freezing.
Soft music that sounded as though a hundred violins played in harmony drifted to me when the prince opened the lodge’s door. He arched an eyebrow at me.
“Are you coming?”
My feet wouldn’t move. “My prince, will you please tell me why you’ve taken me?”
“Are we back to this again?”
Despite my frozen limbs and the lure of the warm lodge, I couldn’t move. Blood thundered through my veins as fear paralyzed me.
“Will you at least give me a hint as to what’s going to happen to me?”
He faced me, then let the door close before he inched closer on deceptively quiet steps. He moved silently until he towered over me, letting me know that when he wanted to, he could move like a phantom.
“Not yet.”
My breath shuddered out of me. “Not yet?”
A swell of power rumbled around him, and I briefly realized that I was playing a very dangerous game again, but Blessed Mother, I was terrified of what was to come.
“Would you rather stay out here and freeze?” he asked.
“No.” My voice shook. “But I don’t know what’s waiting for me in Solisarium, so maybe freezing would be best, my prince.”
“And if I told you why I took you, would that make you more agreeable?”
My eyes widened. “You’ll tell me?”
“No. As I said, not yet.” He gave me his back and called over his tall wings. “Now come inside. If you don’t come willingly, I’ll have to assist you.”
All of the blood drained from my face, as I ducked in after him.
Despite fear and trepidation pounding through me, my muscles loosened when the lodge’s warmth caressed my skin.
A large fire roared in the center of the room, the chimney rising to the roof. Around the fire sat tables and chairs with a few sofas. To the right, a long bar ran the room’s length. Several fae sat on the bar stools as other patrons were seated near the fire. None had bothered to glance at us.
“My prince!” a female called from behind the bar. Short wings were tucked in at her back, and a long skirt flowed to her ankles. She dusted her hands on an apron and sashayed around the bar’s edge.
Everyone else straightened, their relaxed positions disappearing as all heads swiveled in our direction.
The female lodge employee smiled brightly as she approached us, a dimple appearing in her cheek. “I didn’t realize you’d be joining us this fine eve, Your Highness. Come sit by the fire while I ready your room.”
“Thank you, Milis. I’m sorry this is short notice.” When she just waved a hand, the prince added, “The others will arrive shortly, and we have an extra guest with us tonight.”
The female’s eyes widened when she beheld me. She took in my worn clothing and wingless back, gawking more and more as I stood there.
I resisted the urge to fidget, because the female wore the same expression everyone did when they saw an adult Solis fairy without wings. But at least my hair was concealed. Silver linings. I almost snorted when that pun struck me.
“Like I said, she’s my guest,” the prince said tightly. “I expect her to be treated as such.”
The female immediately dropped her stare. “Right, I’ll—” She dipped in a curtsy. “Of course, my prince.”
She hurried from the room to the back stairs leading to a second floor, which I assumed was where the lodging rooms waited, as an enchanted tray floated past us. Laden with drinks, it glided across the room to a table of three males. From there, the drinks floated off the serving tray, coming to rest in front of each patron.
Now that the surprise of the prince’s arrival was wearing off, more and more looked in my direction. Whispers erupted, and comments drifted toward me.
“No wings? How peculiar.”
“Were they shaved, do you suppose?”
The prince stepped in front of me, shielding me from their obnoxious curiosity. “Hungry?”
His question had my attention snapping away from the curious onlookers as Milis reappeared, hurrying from the stairs to our side.
“I suppose, my prince.” I didn’t add anything further. I was always hungry, even though at the moment I doubted I could eat.
“Your rooms are being readied. Would you like refreshments while you wait?” Milis asked, her smile overly bright.
When the prince inclined his head, she nodded toward the table nearest the fire and gave the couple sitting at it a sharp look.
Both hastily stood, their chairs squeaking against the floor when they pushed them back in a flourish. The prince didn’t so much as utter a thank you when they moved to the empty corner booth far away from the fire and its heat.
My lips thinned as Prince Norivun settled onto the chair, the wooden seat protesting under his heavy weight as his wings settled into the divots created to accommodate them. I pulled out the chair across from him, looking anywhere but at his handsome face as an enchanted tray floated to us.
Two large bowls of stew glided off the tray to our place settings, along with mugs of ale and plates of heavily buttered bread. The portions were generous, easily four times the size of Krisil’s ladle. It all smelled delicious as scents of herbed meat wafted up to greet me, but my stomach protested despite its hollow hole as another terrible thought struck me. Perhaps this would be the first meal of many I would have without my sister.
The prince was on his third bite before he nodded toward my bowl. “You need to eat.”
I met his gaze, unblinking. His beauty struck me again. Sitting as he was, his sheer size dominated the room, yet he held himself with ease, his large bulk moving fluidly—gracefully even. I skimmed over his symmetrical features, deep-set eyes, and strong nose. His masculinity was the kind spoken of in sonnets and sung in melodies that seduced a female with only a few syllables. He was utter perfection, a living sculpture. It only riled me further. Such unparalleled beauty wasn’t fair in a male such as him.
“Is that a command, my prince?”
His eyes narrowed before he leaned forward in his chair. “Your life as you knew it is over. I suggest you adjust to that and stop sulking.”
“Sulking?”
“Yes, sulking.”
“And have you ever been taken from your home, your family, by the fairy who . . .”
His eyebrow arched, a perfect wing of silver. “The fairy who what?”
His expression remained guileless, truly unburdened. He honestly didn’t know what he’d done to me, to Cailis, to our lives.
Righteous anger burned inside me, which was much more preferable to the fear I’d previously felt, but I pinched my lips closed.
“The fairy who what?” he repeated.
“Nothing, my prince. I’m quite tired. I apologize.” My heart beat painfully hard as I took a deep breath.
What he’d done to me, he’d probably done to countless other families, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that he didn’t know of my family’s fate. He not only hadn’t asked my name, but he’d also probably lost count of his atrocities. He was the Death Master of the continent after all.